On the night of November 16-17 in Las Vegas, USA at the T-Mobile Arena, a fight took place between WBO super featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete (38-1-1, 31 KOs) and Brazilian challenger Robson Conceicao (17-2-1 , 8 KO). Different fighting styles, completely different boxers and expectations before the fight that the Brazilian would not be an easy counterpart for the Mexican came true.
To be honest, Navarrete even saved himself from defeat. Although the judge’s notes do not say this.
Navarrete completely lost the start of the match. Luckily for him, the Brazilian doesn’t have a powerful enough punch
There is such a thing about fighters with style like Navarrete. Everyone understands that it is possible to beat them, but few can do it. It’s as if there’s nothing like that in a Mexican. Well, he’s big, strong, hits well and a lot. Is this surprising? But in combination with other skills and gifts of fate, this became decisive for Emanuel.
In previous categories, the Mexican looked great. He was much larger than his rivals. And if not more, then definitely more resilient, because nature created him that way. I could lose weight and not lose effectiveness. But the move to second featherweight calls into question his capabilities.
Originally there was Liam Wilson. Not the best boxer not only in the world, but also in the division. He knocked down the Mexican, but could not cope physically and lost by technical knockout after a few rounds. Then there was Oscar Valdez. The much smaller Mexican boxed beautifully. And many times he hit his opponent in such a way that anyone else would have fallen. But Oscar is too small against Navarrete, and Emanuel took advantage of this perfectly.
Now here’s Robson Conceicao. Both large and quite athletic. Just without hitting. Still, 8 out of 17 victories are early – a so-so indicator. The Brazilian has never relied on a shot because he cannot destroy it. In some rare cases it turns out well. And sometimes even bright. But it doesn’t happen in such a way that it hits and any opponent begins to stagger.
Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine. Robson Conceicao
On the other hand, Navarrete does not have this either. He’s got a tough shot, no doubt about it. And he also knows how to take a blow – he takes it as if the blow had never happened. But not a show-stopper. I just have the strength to hit hard and very, very much.
So, problems arose with Conceicao. They could be expected from everywhere. Robson could have outplayed the Mexican, as an option. He is a very slippery person. He could shoot from a distance and run back. But no, the Brazilian began to fight and beat the Mexican. Just taking care of Navarrete’s case. And it worked.
Emanuel slept through the opening rounds. Conceicao hit him from all sides, pressed him, and he just tried to catch his mistakes. The boxers changed places, but not in favor of the favorite.
When Navarrete woke up, there was a knockdown. But not something terrible. A left uppercut landed, which the Mexican constantly uses successfully. Conceicao sensed the problem and sat down. I took the knee so that later I could calmly return to the fight. Yes, I lost the round, but it was a tactically normal decision. Within a few seconds he was breathing well and feeling well.
The Brazilian continued his line. Unfortunately for him, his strength began to leave him, and his opponent had just woken up. It would seem that you need to get on the bike a little and let your counterpart swing. But Conceicao began to respond blow to blow. And it still didn’t look bad. Although this is not his element at all. Simply due to his size and skills, he has every opportunity not to be afraid of such an opponent.
The second knockdown came – in the seventh round. Robson really missed the body hard, but overall he fell not because of the blow, but because his opponent leaned on top of him. However, the referee counted the knockdown and it is understandable. Perhaps, in dynamics from his perspective, everything looked like such a decision.
No, the Brazilian did not crumble here either. Navarrete gained momentum, as he always does, and pushed non-stop until the championship rounds. Conceicao was tired, exhausted, but fought to the fullest and still didn’t look bad. If he had added more striking power, Navarrete might even have lost at the start.
In the last round, both were so exhausted that they did not even fight with moral strength. We just fought to achieve and snatch victory.
The first, fortunately, was successful for both warriors. No one succeeded in the second. One side saw Navarrete’s victory. Quite controversial. The other two are tied 113-113. Knockdowns helped Emanuel retain the title.
What’s next?
Emanuel Navarrete promised that he would give revenge to the Brazilian if he wanted. He says Robson deserves it.
Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine. Emanuel Navarrete and Robson Conceicao
Of course he deserved it. Three title chances and constant failures. First, a close fight with Oscar Valdez. Then a tough test for Shakur Stevenson. I could have won today. But he didn’t win, because a draw is a normal result.
And also because it was not an ideal battle plan, although it was a very good one. As it turns out, you can fight Navarrete if you are big enough. What will happen if Emanuel fights with a fairly large and smart boxer with a punch? There are a lot of people like that in the lightweight division, and he’s just going to end up going there.
Robson can take revenge. The fans really enjoyed the confrontation, and they will definitely come to the second one. You just need to do something with the plan. Maybe not just chop without stopping. Dose exchanges and smart boxing to allow your opponent to lose strength. As we can see, Emanuel’s endurance is not ironclad.
On the other hand, Navarrete knows exactly what to do against the Brazilian. For the second fight, he will prepare even better and will apply even more pressure, trying to charge the uppercut. In general, there are even more questions before a possible rematch than before the first fight.
In the first fight, we thought whether the Brazilian would cope with his opponent and whether he had enough boxing intelligence. Now we understand that there are chances for this, but the Mexican can also improve and prevent his opponent from doing what he wants.
Intrigue, interesting, let’s have a second part.
#Navarrete #lost #Conceicao #knockdowns #saved
2023-11-17 20:15:00
